The wolf and me
by the flower bed
Summary: Annabeth, 7 years old, picks up a little cub in the wood in Camp Half Blood. She nurtures it, plays with it, and does what all dog lovers would do. But she finds out that the little 'puppy' she brought was not a puppy but a wolf. But now, she finds out that her wolf may not be a wolf at all.
1. prolouge

**Um, so hello everybody, It's me, Flowerbed. Well, I guess nobody would remember me since the last time I uploaded a fanfictions was like, 2 years ago. It's no surprise that nobody remembers me. I'm not disappointed, not at all! (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA)**

 **Anyway, I'm thinking of writing a new one. Although I didn't think the story through, I guess it would work out. Well, somehow.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO and the HOO series. They belong to Rick Riordan**

 **And please, when you enter Percy Jackson show on Google, a petition comes out on the very first line. Sign this! It's a petition for sending a letter to Disney and Dream works to make a Percy Jackson show.**

 **Annabeth POV.**

I looked around the table with my plate in my hands. There was no room for me to sit on. As I was the newcomer, I had to sit when all the others have already gotten seated. I asked the one on the end of the bench to squeeze a little bit in and sat on that little piece of wood that was left. The Athena table was one of the tables that were closest to the forest so I was the one who was the closest to the forest.

I tried to eat normally with half of my body hanging out in the air. Let me tell you. It's not easy. Not easy at all. Especially for a 7 year old girl, like me.

I was claimed very recently, but everybody knew I was a child of Athena ever since I came here. The blonde hair and stormy grey eyes gave it away I guess. But still, the seating in the mess hall tables were decided by the order the campers joined the cabin. So I was dead last. Not that I was really angry about that. Not at all! Well the fact that I had to have half of my butt hanging out was not pleasant. But still, everybody must have gone through it.

I shoved some baked beans into my mouth while mindlessly staring out at the wilderness which was almost the most nearest thing to me except my sort of half-brother sitting next to me chuckling nosily to his friend on the other side.

Dryads were talking to each other, giggling and playing around, just having a great time. I could also hear the gurgling sound of the naiads living in the small creeks in the woods. She didn't really like those creatures. They were absolute flirts; always waving to boys they have never even met, like Luke.

Luke. I looked over at the Hermes table. Luke was there, with his handsome features, blonde hair glowing the noon sunlight like honey gold. It was like he was just shining by himself. He had already made friends with other campers in the cabin. I knew he would. I knew he would get over that gloomy depressing state he went through when Thalia died. No, she wasn't really dead. She is still alive, but not so alive. She lives, but as a pine tree, guarding the camp borders.

It had been quite a long time since I saw him smile. 14 years old. Too young to be despaired for eternity, isn't it?

I turned my gaze away from Luke and fixed in on my own dinner plate. I hadn't eaten much because I was too busy daydreaming. I saw other campers leaving. They had already finished their dinner. Even the Hermes cabin seemed to be shrinking. I could sit with quite some empty space left for some campers have left.

I picked up my fork and forked at the green beans I had gotten. There was also a piece of barbeque left over. I finished by beans but just couldn't finish that meat. It isn't like I don't like meat or anything. Don't get me wrong, I'm not like Grover. I'm not really a vegetarian. I had already burned my piece of food to Athena, my mother. And I didn't feel like throwing that little piece of meat away. Its waste, isn't it?

While I was wondering how I could get rid of this meat without giving a hand to Global warming, I heard a faint whimper coming from the woods. I looked up, trying to see if anybody else heard the cry. But everybody else was still absorbed in their dinners or with their conversations.

Maybe it was just the wind.

I had just decided to finish it off for the sake of Grover(who hates it when people leave food) when I heard the cry again. It was little bit louder this time. Still faint, but it was an unmistakable whimper of a creature calling for help. I looked around once more, saw that nobody was really paying attention to me, and sled down the bench. I crawled out under the table and headed toward the nearest brush that I could find.

The leaves of the brush were a little bit sharp, scraping my legs and arms a little bit. It didn't hurt much. How much can a sharp leaf hurt?

I stood up when I was sure I was out of sight of the other campers and perched up my ears to hear the whimper again but I couldn't hear anything for a while. The evening sunlight broke through the high leaves of the forest and made beautiful patterns for light on the forest floor. Dry leaves and fresh leaves were all bathed in warm sunlight. It was a peaceful sight, the forest floor giving out an orange sort of beam.

The forest looked golden and peaceful.

Not hearing the sound again, I decided that it must have been the sound of the wind, and I had heard it wrong. Just as I was turning my back to the woods, I heard the whimpering again. I caught it this time and turned quickly to where the sound came from.

"Ok, this time is the last time." I muttered to myself.

"If I can't find what's making that sound, I'm going to leave here no matter the circumstances."

I walked toward the direction the sound came from. Dry brown leaves disintegrated under my strong, determined footsteps. A ray of red sunlight that went through all of the leaves shined down on a patch of grass behind a blueberry bush with muffled sounds of giggling coming through. Those sounds were probably made by Dryads. I wonder what they are giggling about.

I brushed the leaves away that tickled my face to see where the sound had come from. When I got passed the bush, I found a little creature, wiggling under the warm golden sunlight. It was surrounded by a couple of dryads who were looking at it, fascinated by the movement of the young one.

"Um… Hello?" I reached out to the dryads. They looked around and found me standing awkwardly next to the blueberry bush they were leaning their backs to. They giggled once again and melted back into their homes, the blueberry bush and the juniper tree next to it, leaving only a faint scent of both trees.

"So…Ok. I get you guys don't want to talk to me." I muttered under my breath and walked toward the thing those dryads were fascinated at.

The creature was a small, young little thing. I knelt next to it to see what it was up close and found out that it was indeed a baby, although it had some fur, it was quite small and was whimpering.

A dog maybe. I wondered whether I should pick it up and take it back to camp. The cub seemed to feel my gaze because he started wiggling towards me. It had all of its legs but it couldn't walk yet. Definitely a cub. I didn't move away as the cub came near me and tried to climb up my shoe. It whimpered and rubbed his head on my sneakers, and I just had to pick it up, it was so cute.

The cub was only a handful. It blinked its big sea green eyes as it came into the shade form the bright sunlight where he originally was. Sea green eyes. Quite an unordinary color for an animal. I took eye contact with it, taking my hand up to my face and looked at him closely, and he looked at me as if I was some kind of animal in the zoo.

I stood up, carefully cradling the cub in my hands and stated walking back to where I was, where the barbeque I had left was still waiting for me.

This little cub is going to go to someone I know.


	2. Chapter 1 getting the dog

**Hello, everybody. I loved all your reviews and I really really appreciate all the love you guys gave me! (Well at least I think you guys did give me) I'm not sure how often I can upload this story because I can't use the computer on a regular basis. Two chapters may come up on one day or only one chapter in a week. I hope everybody can wait for me…**

 **Love you guys!**

 **Annabeth POV.**

Chiron looked closely at the small creature squirming in his hands. I looked at Chiron while he was pondering whether or not this creature is allowed in the camp. I gazed at the floor with my feet dangling over it because the chair in the Big house was too tall for me. If I wanted to keep that little dog or so, I need Chiron's approval for it. It may be dangerous, like a monster that is just pretending to be a helpless little creature needing some helpful hand.

"You brought this from the woods, you say?" Chiron asked as he looked up from the quite interesting little puppy.

"Yes, I saw the dryads giggling and playing around that little thing." I answered as I swung my legs under the chair.

"I think it's some kind of dog." I piped up as Chiron went back to observing the pup.

He didn't reply to my statement but put on a face of fascination.

"It's a very rare occasion to find a young creature without its mother. Annabeth, did you see and tracks of an adult one near this? Did you see any signs of a mother who leaved its home only temporarily?"

I shook my head and showed him that I hadn't seen any of those he had just mentioned.

"It was all alone in the woods, well not counting those dryads that were giggling around him. But I don't think they'll act as a mother or such. But I'm not sure. I didn't really pay attention to the surroundings. I just saw that little thing and decided to bring it to you, to see if it is Okay to keep it in Camp."

Chiron tilted his head at that.

"No sign, whatsoever? That's strange. It's not like the little creature could have walked to the edge of the camp with his own legs; look at it. It can't even walk properly."

I nodded with a sign of approval.

To think of it all again, it is indeed really strange. Finding a young creature without its mother does not make sense, especially if the pup can't even see and walk well without any help. So this means that someone or something had moved it here, but I couldn't find, (or remember) any tracks around the pup. No signs of a mother nearby or a trail of soil that the mother had left when she wondered off. Nothing. Nothing at all.

What if the thing really had a mother?

What if I had taken the creature when the mother had gone off for a walk or something and I had taken it away from her?

Will it be dangerous for the camp to nurture it with a maybe existing mother roaming in the woods looking for her lost cub some stupid half-blood took?

"Is, is it dangerous, Chiron? Is it just a normal dog?"

"….a dog. Not…..do"

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Chiron answered as he put the pup down on the table in front of him.

"I was just saying to myself. No need to pay attention. I don't believe that anyone would be looking for him. If so, there must have been some kind of sign left, like the grass around the pup was squished compared to other parts. Or like there were fur around the little one, which you would have noticed right away.

Nor do I think this is a monster of a sort. If it truly was dangerous, the dryads wouldn't have gotten close to it. They do not move from where they are rooted. They would have seen the mother, if it existed, and considering that they did not show any fear to the cub, it means that this creature is harmless."

He concluded.

"So, does that mean that I can keep it?"

"Yes, you may, Annabeth. Of course you can. It's not dangerous and keeping a pet would be good for all the campers, don't you think?"

Chiron chuckled as he went out the door.

I got off from the chair with a jump and skittered toward the table where Chiron had carefully let the creature down. It had fallen asleep, with its torso going up and down regularly, following its pattern of breathing. Bending my knees, my eyes got to the level of the pup's one, although its eyes were closed shut.

I breathed in the forest scent that still lingered with this creature on the table. It must have gotten it from lying on the forest floor. Its small ears twitched as if it had heard my breathing near it. Not wanting to wake the probably tired creature, I backed away from the table as quietly as possible and tried to look at him from a distance.

It was a cute little puppy, with short fur all around its body. The fur was black, but cozy looking. Not the kinds that give people a cold feeling.

I raised my hand and started patting it across the back. It whimpered a little bit and I stopped, thinking that I was waking it. But it didn't make that sound again and seemed to have fallen asleep absolutely.

Once again, matching my eyes to the closed ones of the pup's one, I muttered under my breath.

"Sweet dreams, little one."

And then I walked outside to follow Chiron to the campfire.

But not before I got a little handkerchief and put it over the creature like a blanket.

Sweet dreams, sweet dreams.


	3. Chapter 2 naming the dog

**Annabeth POV.**

The sky was blue. There were only some drifting clouds on the sky of the camp. No signs of some gods being angry and messing around with the borders of the camp.

I was currently sitting on the bench in front of the big house with my new dog in my laps. Chiron told me that the cub was apparently young,(Yes Chiron, like I couldn't see that) and still need's his mother's milk. I had nodded and asked him if we should feed it with milk. He approved and suggested that I feed him, since I'm like the new "mother" of the puppy.

I sighed and changed the way I was holding the milk bottle the pup was sucking on.

The creature had a bigger appetite than other dogs I had known. I know because I had lived with a dog once, with my "family." Well, the only person in that family I was actually related to was my father and it was very clear he wasn't found of me.

The pup had grown quite a lot over the times. (Only 3 days had passed since I brought him) He could now walk well, and all of his fur had grown. Black fur covered his whole body which made him almost invisible during the night. (Except the ever florescent sea green eyes that beam in the dark.)

I patted his fur absentmindedly while I was feeding him. I first predicted that I should feed him three times a day, along with the camp. But it turned out that he wasn't full with just three lovely dates with the milk bottle.

When he whines, it means that he is currently hungry and is craving for that date with his milk bottle which he adores.

Don't get me wrong, he is very cute. As all baby animals are, his stubby legs and lush fur, big innocent looking eyes were very dangerous for people with weak hearts. (Heart attack caused by extreme cuteness)

If was afternoon, and all the campers had finished lunch and were going through each of their activities. I was supposed to climb the lava wall, but Chiron insisted that I should take care of the dog since he had to go teach the archery class.

"Too many bad archers."

He had muttered before going to go teach the said archers. I knew that he taught archery to anybody who wanted (or needed) to learn, which doesn't really guarantee that the pupils were great archers who do not hit Chiron by mistake. Or miss the target completely and 'accidently' hit him in the butt or so. But he rarely gets frustrated over that (at least in front of the pupils) and doesn't really gets surprised by a stray arrow protruding from somewhere of his body.

Well, what to expect from a never dying teacher of eternity.

I chuckled at that thought and went back to stroking the pup's fur. He was still absolutely absorbent with his little date with the bottle. Chiron always gives me the milk when I come to the big house to feed the little creature. It's warm, so Chiron must heat it or something.

Suddenly, the pull that was being pressured on the milk bottle and the paw that was holding it disappeared. The pup had stopped eating. He let out a small burp and curled on my lap, covering his small little head with his lust and rich tail.

His big sea green eyes glinted between his tail and his body. I smiled at that cute little gesture and rubbed him behind his ears. He let out a little whine and tried to bite my finger. I quickly took it away, wondering if the pup had his teeth.

Better ask Chiron.

Before I went to Chiron, I decided to try and train the dog. I tried to remember the memory I had with my own dog, training it with a ball and stick. But for this young dog, I decided to start from the basics.

If you want to train your dog, you need to be sure that the dog has faith in you. A relationship without faith can never exist long. And one of the best ways to earn a dog's trust or favor is feeding it. It also works on other animals too.

How simple.

But right now, this animal is full and cozy, just met me 3 days ago, meaning that he doesn't have any incentive in following what I order or say.

But I decided to try it just because I didn't want to go to the lava wall. I know it's no use doing that, but still. The last time I went, there, I got back to my cabin with numerous holes sizzling with lava that accidently got on while I was trying to get to the top.

The clashing rocks were a problem too. I usually managed to get out with only the sacrifice of some pieces of cloth between them and that made me even more vulnerable to lava and stuff.

It's not strange I'm not entirely interested in going to the lava wall again.

"Hand!"

I ordered as I turned out my left hand for the dog to put his right paw on. I watched with amazement as the dog yawned a little bit and put his left paw on my hand.  
"You're a smart one!"

I laughed out loud.

A breeze carrying the scent of the sea passed between us. Must have come from the beach, I concluded. The salty sea smell made my feelings way better than it was before I had come to feed the puppy.

I liked the camp especially when it's peaceful. Yeah, I do want to go out into the open. It's where the real world is. In Camp, you only train and train. I know there are monsters in the forest, but it's not the same.

Someday, I'm going to lead a quest and succeed. That's my goal. Then, I believe, my mother would be proud of me.

The pup jumped off the table and shook his head furiously. Then he started running towards the beach. I was like, what the heck, and ran after him. It was kind of a surprise since I wasn't really paying attention to him.

The big house and the beach had quite a space between. I knew I shouldn't stop in case I lose the pup. There is always a possibility of that. The humid air whisked past me as I ran across the cabins.

I saw Luke at the corner of my eye and stopped to a halt. He must have been coming back from sword practice because he had a sword in his hand. Or maybe he visited his cabin while he was sword practicing. Whatever. It didn't really matter.

The bright summer light made his blond hair look as if it was glowing by itself. He looked gorgeous like he always does. He looked as if he was having a good time with his friend who was standing next to him. Probably another Hermes cabin camper since he had that trade mark of the Hermes cabin; a sheepish grin and a mischievous look in his eyes.

Sweat trickled from his nose as it glinted brightly in the hot summer sunlight. I could've just stood there and watch him, but I heard the faint yelp afar. That took me out of my daydream and I started running toward the beach.

There were only a few campers on the beach. Some were with friends laughing on about something, and walking along the beach. I whipped my head around to find the little creature. I thought that it would be easy to find him since his fur was black which was quite easy to distinguish from the sandy color of the beach.

But I couldn't even catch a sight of blackness around anywhere. That's when I started to feel a little uneasy. The pup was still very young and wasn't really bright about what's what. But I don't think it would go and drown itself in the water, would it?

He might have gone past the barrier without knowing about it. I mean, it's not a monster or anything. It could leave the camp when it wanted.

I started walking along the beach and tried to think where I would head if I were a dog which had gone lose. But my thoughts couldn't even come to an agreement. It was all like:

Annabeth 1: I think he must have gone that way.

Annabeth 2: Why?

Annabeth1: Deductive reasoning.

Annabeth2: So you're guessing.

Annabeth3: I think he went that way. I would've gone that way if I were a dog.

Annabeth2: Again, why?

Annabeth3: Because I prefer left.

Annabeth2: Your preference has absolutely nothing to do with this situation!

I think Annabeth 2 is the only logical one, eh?

Finally, I decided to ask the people along the beach whether they had seen a black dog race by. I went up to a couple who were holding hands together and asked the question.

"A black dog? Yeah, I think I saw it run past me."

The boy said cocking his head to one side. The girl slipped her hand out of his and turned to me.

"It went that way about a minute or two ago."

She pointed with her hand. I said thank you and started walking that way. I didn't want to miss it by running past it in a hurry.

"Doggy!"

I yelled. My face flushed as I was calling it aloud. I hadn't really thought of it, but I should really make a name up for him or something.

I noticed the tides of the sea had brought many things on the beach, like seaweed, sea urchins and so on. There was even a bottle with a letter in it. I knew I had to find it, but considering that the way I was going was not toward the magical border of the camp, I decided that it was Ok to take a little break in the search.

I stepped toward the bottle and opened it. The paper seemed a little bit old. I was very careful in pulling out the scroll and agilely opened the scroll.

Scribbled on the scroll in a child's handwriting were: Our mother told us that father set sail on the Atlantic but never came back. If we set this letter in the sea, would it reach him? –P.J & A.J on Montauk beach-

The writing seemed to have been done by children about 4 to 5 years old. It was quite scribbly and it seemed to have been written by two people. If the father had gone to the Atlantic but never came back, he must have died.

The idea made me feel sullen, but the hopefulness written in the letter was very heartwarming. I folded it and put in in my pocket and started to search for the dog again.

I was just walking past a pile of seaweed when I heard a whimper. I stopped immediately and looked around. But I still couldn't find any black fur. I called out one more time wondering if he had gone into the woods.

But the whimpering came again and I heard it coming from that clump of seaweed sitting right in front of me.

"Is he…?"

I wondered out loud as I sat down in front of the pile.

"Hey, puppy?"

I called out at the seaweed pile and this time saw the whole thing shifting a bit to the left, and a whining sound came underneath it. I reached out and took some seaweed away.

And as I cleared the pile out, there he was, with his glistening sea green eyes staring right back it me. I laughed as I lifted him up. He was chewing on a long piece of seaweed which followed him as I lifted him up in my arms.

"What were you doing under a pile of seaweed, kiddo?"

I grinned. There was a clump of seaweed still stuck to his left ear and he was chewing on some of it too. His tail was wagging side to side as if he was having just a great time under that clump. He felt a little bit wet and smelled like the sea. Salty.

He barked a bit as I was taking away the seaweed still clinging on to him. Just then, an idea formed in my head about his new name.

I smiled broadly and held the dog up high.

" I know what I'm gonna call you! Your name's gonna be…"

 **Uh, Hello people?** **Yeah, I know I've been really late. Not that anybody's gonna wait for me. See, this story was really NOT PLANNED and I was already getting blockage. I needed to some time to think of a proper story. (It's not even done yet.)**

 **Plus, since I'm moving on to high school, I think it's going to be more difficult for me to update this story. But I'll update it when I can find time. I Hope Every one of you a happy New Year! (::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::)(::) (giving out free cookies.)**

 **Can Anybody guess what his name's going to be?**


	4. Chapter 3 keeping the dog

' **K hello guys. I thought that I wouldn't be able to come back frequently, so I'm going to upload this story now. I don't have any savings now! That is so sad waahhhh…..**

 **I LOVE all you guys. Seriously.**

"Seaweed brain?"

And just on que, the called dog spitted out a half-chewed clump of seaweed and looked up and the one said his name.

Chiron had retorted with an unbelieving tone after I told him what I was going to name my dog. I nodded to him proudly as he looked down at me in bewilderment.

"I expected names like 'James' 'Salty' or anything like that. I knew you were ah…. creative. But I never knew you also had very…..ah, different tastes for names."

"Why? Isn't seaweed brain a good name for him? He just looks like one, doesn't he?"

Chiron shifted uncomfortably and his curlers in his tail swooped behind him as his lower half of his body, which is a white stallion, moved to the side.

He tried to say something but looked at me and closed his mouth. He looked like he was pondering what to tell me.

"Um. Yes. I think it suits him very well. You can call him….seaweed brain."

Chiron said with a sigh. I smiled up at him and said goodbye.

"From now on, your name is going to be Seaweed brain. Ok, Seaweed brain?"

I told the dog facing him nose to nose. I could see his sea-green eyes staring right back at me in a questionable way. That he barked a little bit. I took that as a positive answer and kissed him on his wet little nose.

Chiron had taken me off of camp activities because I had asked him to. I wanted to feed the dog with my own hands. But now I had to go back to my activities. Since my next activity was Pegasus riding, I decided to bring him with me.

Although the class is called Pegasus riding, I'm not supposed to ride it yet because I'm too small so it's kind of dangerous for me to ride a Pegasus in the air. They let me ride it on the ground like riding a horse. Then, they can catch me if I fall down.

I usually watch the older kids trying to ride the Pegasus while I try to understand the working of it so I can do it better when I get to have a ride on it. Yeah, I've been on it, but not alone. The older campers sometimes get on with me and steers the Pegasus. But riding it alone is absolutely different.

There were other campers already in the Pegasus stables. The dog was in my arms as I entered the stable. The senior campers who were supposed to tech the class were showing the Pegasi to the campers.

As I got closer, all the Pegasi turned my way and stared at my direction. They whinnied in unison and cocked their head. And of course, I didn't understand any of this.

And not understanding the situation usually drives me nuts. Seaweed brain squirmed in my arms and barked out loud to the Pegasi.

"Shh, Seaweed brain. You're gonna scare them. Pegasi are sensitive creatures."

I said as I covered his muzzle with my free hand. The Pegasi whinnied one more time and turned away.

"Hey, what's the all the commotion?"

I turned to the voice and spotted the senior, Derek. He was smiling at me while petting a sandy colored Pegasus.

Derek Foster was in the Demeter cabin. He was just about So he taught the class. He had a dark complexion, just enough to make him look healthy. His ash-blond hair was swept to one side and his grass-green eyes were sparkling with curiosity..

"These guys only follow people with sugar cubes. Do you have any?"

I shook my head after I turned out my pockets. There was nothing a normal Pegasus would like, unless it liked taste of aged paper.

"I guess it was just a coincidence."

I shrugged my shoulders and went next to him. He spotted the dog I was holding and asked me about it.

"Is that the dog you brought from the woods?" he asked.

"Yup, I found it surround with dryads."

"Well, did you name it?"

He asked me as he was opening a sugar cube for the Pegasus in front of him.

"I named him Seaweed brain!"

I said proudly. Derek dropped his sugar cube.

"What?" he retorted.

"Seaweed brain. His name is Seaweed brain. And I'm gonna call him seaweed for short."

I confirmed as I held up Seaweed brain up to his face. Grass-green eyes had eye contact with the sea-green eyes of Seaweed brain for quite a time. He looked astonished for a moment but then laughed a good-hearted laugh.

He shook his hair and patted me on the head.

"That's a good name for him. I hope I can get to see him grow up before I leave this camp."

I nodded and smiled up at him. As the Pegasus in front of him nuzzled me, I turned away and started to concentrate on getting used to Porkpie.

After the big incident of me naming the dog, there wasn't really exciting. I used most of my free time playing with Seaweed brain. I understood that the name was too long and started to call him seaweed in short.

"Hey, Seaweed! Fetch the stick!"

I called out as I threw a long stick across the meadow next to the strawberry field. He fetched it and put it at my feet, looking up at me with expectant eyes. I laughed and ruffled his fur. He was so cute.

He had grown a lot. All of his teeth had come out meaning that I didn't have to feed him any milk. Chiron found a dog bowl in the Big House, (Why and how it was there is out of my knowing) and started to give him some meat in it.

I was wondering if I had to buy some dog food or something but since seaweed brain looked happy with the leftover meat, I decided against it.

He had grown in size too. Just 1 moth ago, he was just reached the middle of my shin but now, he was almost reached my knee. His fur had grown more rich and yes, he didn't even lose his cuteness.

He looked up at me with those big sea-green eyes as I was daydreaming. I rubbed his head on my leg and I patted him on the head.

We sat on the grass and watched all the other campers leave to go back to their house in the city. I wanted to go out of camp one day. The outside world is the place where all the monsters are. When I get enough training, I'm going to go out and prove myself by leading a quest into success.

Until then, I'm going to train for perfection.

The weather was getting cooler as autumn creeped near. A gentle breeze made ripples in the green grass and tickled my skin. I closed my eyes and felt the peacefulness. I felt warmth creeping up my legs to my torso.

Seaweed brain was lying on my lap with his eyes closed. I patted his back and started fingering the new necklace and the bead I had gotten at the campfire. There was only one bead on the string since it was my first year at Camp, and there was a painting of Thalia's pine tree on it. Every time I saw it, it reminded me of Thalia and all the adventures she, Luke and I had before meeting Grover.

I thought of the dagger Luke gave me few months ago when he first met me. I almost brained him on the head with a stray hammer I had found while I was hiding in the shed. Things would have been different if I had killed him accidently.

Thinking about Luke, I wondered why Luke didn't look real happy about getting the bead, although I could have been mistaken.

"Hey, Annabeth!" a slight quivery voice called out.

I turned around to face Grover who was panting a little. His curly hair was trying to blow in the wind but if failed due to its curliness.

His hooves parted the grass he was standing on and his legs twitched a bit. With his goat legs and furry behind, he looked just like your typical satyr you can meet in your normal summer camp.

"What're you doing here?" He asked as he sat down next to seaweed brain. He smiled and scratched him behind the ear.

"He really grew a lot, didn't he?" I said with a smile on my face.

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly frowned and sniffed the air like he was smelling his favorite food in the world: enchiladas.

"That's weird." He muttered under his breath.

"What is?"

"Your dog-"

"Seaweed brain."

"Yeah, whatever, smells funny."

"What?"

I leaned down close and smelled him, but there was nothing strange in his scent. It was just the normal seaweed brain kind of scent, a little bit salty but fresh.

"He doesn't smell funny to me. I washed him yesterday; he can't need another bath already."

"No, it's not that kind of smell. He smells like…. you. A half-blood"

He said with a confused look on his face. I shrugged.

"Probably must have rubbed off me. He sleeps with me, you know."

Grover seemed to ponder that possibility of the scent just rubbing off me on to Seaweed brain. His face still looked a little bit doubtful but he decided to drop that subject.

"Are you going to keep him like, forever?"

I nodded.

"It's not like I'm a summer camper. I can take after him every day. Plus, there's Chiron and all the other campers. He can live without me even when I go to school someday."

I scratched the spot behind the ears. He moved a little bit in his sleep as I scratched him but he didn't seem to wake.

Me and Grover sat there on top of the hill and watched most of the campers move out back to their normal lives. It was just another peaceful day.


End file.
